Judy's Brain Bits

This charming little phrase came out of a conversation with my husband this weekend. I was telling him that I couldn' t possibly cram one more thing onto my to-do list, or activities. I was full, beyond full, with commitments. If he tried, my head would explode, and he would have little bits of grey matter scattered, all over the place to clean up.

To which he replied, "Judy's Brain Bits". Over much laughter, we decided it would make a great name for a rock band!

So, what is on that list threatening the integrity of my cranium?

Preparing for ACRE is near the top. I have been trying to design the "invisible booth". A booth that seems to magically disappoear...fading back so all that is apparent is the work. Instead of trying to Wow! anyone with my booth design prowess, in an obvious way, at least, I am trying to Wow! them with my work. So I have been planning displays, determining what to rent, what I need to buy, and how to ship things. I have been figuring out which pictures I want to use for oversized images. I thinnk I have settled on the ones below.

I have been working on that mailing list, and deciding on a special offer to put on the postcard. That has to go out by the end of the week.

I need to come up with a "starter set". A way for someone to easily order a starter collection of jewelry to carry in their shop or gallery.

I have decided I will be putting together a video of how to fold a crane from polymer clay, that I will put on YouTube. My reason? To solicit donations for The Crane Project. More to come on the video later. The project is plugging along, slower than I would like right at the moment, with a few setbacks, but when I have a few hours, I am in the studio, cranking out cranes. I have about 200 cranes produced, but I have also applied for one grant, and have another grant application that has to be submitted in the next few weeks. The last one is with the Artist Valentine grant program I had written about earlier.

The other grant was with a group called Creative Capital Foundation. They have a great approach that focuses on developing artists in ways that will make their investment more meaningful in the long run. They also ask the artists to donate back to the organization a portion of any income generated by the project they fund. Paying back, so that others can benefit in the future. I will find out in June if I proceed to the next phase for that grant application process.

I have been playing around with a few other design ideas, one can be seen above in the green shibori necklace, in the second row, on the left. I am calling it Shibori Fringe.

Several orders have had to go out, and I am behind on one.

I had a wonderful opportunity to go up to New Hampshire for an evening meeting of the New Hampshire Polymer Clay Guild one night last week. I have gotten to know quite a few members through regional retreats, or through visits to the League of New Hampshire Craftsman's Guild fair at Mt. Sunapee, each summer. So, it is always nice to revisit and reacquaint, as well as to meet a few new faces. The reason for my visit was a roundtable discussion about the business of craft. Kathleen Dustin was also a part of the meeting, so it was wonderful to hear some of her insights into the market, pricing, and her approach to selling her work.

The things that remain on that list, untouched...

Making sure I have all the samples I need for the show.

Finalizing my price list, and getting it printed.

Figuring out how I will ship my materials to Las Vegas for the show.

Putting together an up to date press kit for the show.

Application for a display space nearby for next year....perhaps for the cranes.

I am sure there are many other things I have neglected, but they will pop up and make an appearance in that challenged grey matter if they are essential. And sometimes I forget a few things I intended to do, but the world never ends, does it? Perhaps those things were meant to fall of the list.